Saudis say don't worry about peak oil

There is still plenty of oil in the ground and the world should put aside fears about “peak oil”, the head of the Saudi state oil firm Saudi Aramco said on Thursday.

“The concern about peak oil is behind us,” chief executive Khalid Al Falih told a session on energy supplies at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The peak oil theory that oil supply is at or near its peak gained currency when prices zoomed to a record of nearly $150 a barrel in 2008. The issue remains a concern for many in the industry.

Total’s chief executive Thierry Desmarest said the world would struggle to surpass 95 million barrels per day (BPD) in the future — 10 per cent above present levels. “The problem of peak oil remains,” he told the same panel.

His contention was swatted aside by Al Falih.

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